Girls swim team looks to repeat success

By Allison Goldsmith

Saturday

Mar 1, 2014 at 2:00 AM

The skill is there and this season the Nantucket girls swimming and diving team will again challenge for the top spot in the Bay Colony Conference.

The girls’ team finished at 6-1 overall last season with a second place finish at the Bay Colony Conference Championships behind perennial contender North Attleboro. The Whalers will compete again with North Attleboro for the top slot in the conference along with strong Nauset and Barnstable teams, head coach Jim Pignato said.

“Depth is something that this team lacks a little bit, but we make it up with skill and experience,” Pignato said.

Nantucket lost five seniors to graduation last winter, but gained five freshmen to even out the squad for this season. The 2004 Whalers boast four seniors, five juniors, no sophomores and the five freshmen. The new class brings in solid swimming experience from the Dolphins Club Swim Team.

“I am excited to see what they will do on the high school level. I have been working with those girls since I have been here with the Dolphins,” said Pignato, who also serves as the head coach of the Dolphins program.

Freshman Ainsley Ellis leads the new class, brining versatility as well as skill in the sprinting events such as the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. Ainsley will join sister Kaitlyn Ellis, who has been the top distance swimmer for the Whalers in the past three years dominating the 200-yard freestyle and the 500-yard freestyle.

In addition to individual events, coach Pignato hopes that the duo will anchor strong relay teams this season. In particular, the Whalers will strive to break the team record in the 200-yard medley relay of two minutes and 0.34 seconds.

Also returning for the Whalers this season will be senior co-captains Tharon Anderson, competing in the backstroke, and Martha Carl, competing in the breaststroke and freestyle sprint events.

Junior Kelley Martin will return in the 50-yard freestyle sprint along with classmate Rachel Schneider, who will compete in the individual medley and butterfly events for the Whalers this season.

Senior Jesse Hull is the only returning diver for the girls team and will look to gain all-important event points for the Whalers this season. Last year at the Nauset meet, the score was tied until points from the diving were factored in to the final score. The Whalers won the meet with the extra ten points.

Nantucket will compete in the Bay Colony Conference again this season against league foes Barnstable, Oliver Ames, Scituate, Nauset, Taunton, North Attleboro, Middleboro, Sharon and Coyle-Cassidy.

“I love the league we are in because we are so competitive. There are so many teams that are the same size. Competition is there in every event on all teams. Healthy competition makes our kids work for something,” Pignato said.

Following the league schedule the Whalers will engage in the Bay Colony Conference Championship in mid-February. Select swimmers based on qualifying times will be invited to sectional and state championship meets at the end of the season. The Whalers hope to make a stronger showing at the regional meets than last season according to coach Pignato.

“We are going to try to keep the team together. We kind of fell apart last year and didn’t swim to our potential,” he said of the sectional and state meets which fell around Nantucket’s winter vacation period.

Following the annual Relay Carnival on Saturday, Nantucket will open the regular season against a strong Barnstable team at home this Tuesday. The Whalers did not face Barnstable in head-to-head competition last season due to weather and travel restraints.

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